Venting arrangement for steam irons



y 1958 H. H. SCHOTT ET AL 2,833,062

VENTING ARRANGEMENT FOR STEAM IRONS Filed May 17,- 1954 s Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS HOA HED h. sci/0T7 E9291- 2. BUEME/STE'B N4 BY JM/Em HTTORNEY y 1958 H.H. SCHOTT ET AL I 2,833,062

VENTING ARRANGEMENT FOR STEAM IRONS Filed May 17, 1954 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS HOWHED H SCHOTT' EQRL B. BUEME/STEE.

imam/W HTTOE/VE Y H. H. SCHOTT ET AL 2,833,062

VENTING ARRANGEMENT FOR STEAM IRONS V May 6, 1958 s Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 17, 1954 INVENTORS HONHD H. SCHOTT SHEA e. BURME/STER HTT OENE' Y VENTING ARRANGEMENT FOR STEAM il'l UNS Howard H. Schott, St. Paul, and Earl R. Burmeister, Minneapolis, Minn, assignors to General Mills, Inc, a corporation of Delaware Application May 17, 1954, Serial No. 430,142

Claims. (Cl. 38-77) This invention relates in general to steam irons of the domestic variety and pertains more particularly to an improved venting arrangement therefor.

During the course of actual ironing operations, and also in resting a steam iron in between such operations, the iron is moved through various angles and inclinations. For instance, the nose of the iron is frequently tipped downwardly in initiating an ironing stroke, especially when pressing a sleeve or a pocket. On the other hand, laboratory tests have revealed that side resting an iron involves less overall effort than upending an iron, thus introducing other angular components.

Maneuvering a steam iron through such various angles creates a serious venting problem, for while the vent must permit escape of air during filling of the irons reservoir and entrance of air during withdrawal of liquid for conversion to steam, it must not allow liquid to escape in the course of performing the pressing operations, including the above referred to tilting motions.

It is, accordingly, one object of the invention to provide a venting arrangement that will permit the above alluded to tilting without the escape of liquid from the reservoir via such a vent.

It is also an aim of the invention to provide a vent for a steam iron that will function in aneffective manner during actual steam ironing operations.

An additional object is to prevent filling of the irons reservoir beyond a predetermined amount, which amount will be less than that which would permit the escape of liquid via the venting means even when the iron is tilted into an extreme position. l

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a venting means that is relatively inexpensive to produce and which is exceedingly reliable, requiring no movable parts that might at some time fail to perform satisfactorily.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a steam iron exemplifying the invention in a side rest position;-

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken in the direction of line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken in the direction of line 3--3 of Fig. l, and.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view corresponding to Fig. 2 but with the nose of the iron tilted downwardly.

To illustrate the invention, the drawings show a steam iron comprising a soleplate having embedded therein a conventional sheath-type heating element 12.- In eir 86 just above the lower end of the filling tube.

izssaoez Patented May 6, 1958 held in a slightly elevated position by such means as a plurality of posts or studs 24. An outlet for the liquid is indicated at 26 and the degree of opening thereof is governed by a control valve 28. The particular construction of the valve 28 is not important, but as pictured this valve includes a conical head 36 designed to seat against the outlet 26, a threaded shank 32 extending through the top of the reservoir and a knob 34 by which the. valve may be opened and closed.

Passage means 36 connects the outlet 26 with a steam generating area or boiler formed by a cylindrical shell 3% abutting against a gasket 40. Not only does the gasket 40 provide a seal at the base of the boiler 38, but it serves additionally to reduce heat transfer upwardly into the shell.

The sealing relation between the boiler and soleplate is maintained by reason of a bolt member 41 passing upwardly through an aperture 42 provided in the forward portion of a handle 44. Since the handle is anchored to the reservoir 20 by a plurality of angle members 46 and screws 48, it will be appreciated that the bolt member may be forced tightly against the upper closed end of the boiler or shell 38. If desired, a spring pressed cap 50 may be employed to conceal the head of the bolt 41.

Steam generated within the boiler 38 is conducted to the pressing face of the soleplate It by means of a steam delivery tube 52 having threaded connection with a tapped aperture 54. The aperture 54 in turn communicates with a plurality of steam distributing grooves 56 formed in the soleplate.

Liquid used in generating steam is replenished by wayof a filling tube 58 equipped with an integral collar 69 and a threaded section 62. Above and below the top of the reservoir 20 is disposed a pair of gaskets or washers 64 and 66, a nut member 68 functioning to retain these washers under compression to seal thereby the filling tube against leakage past its exterior surface. The upper end of the tube 58 is internally threaded at 70 for the accommodation of a plug 72 which when tightened prevents any escape of liquid from the reservoir 20 via the bore 74- of the filling tube.

As best seen in Figs. 2 and 4, but pictured in phantom outline in Fig. 1, the invention envisages the use of a vent tube 76having one end 78 leading to atmosphere and its other end fili disposed within the bore '74 of the filling tube 58. It will be observed that there is a longitudinal section or portion 82 of the vent tube arranged coaxially with respect to the filling tube 58, thereby placing the end The reason for this stems from the fact that the steam iron forming the subject matter of the instant invention is designed to be rested on either of its sides, a pair'of side feet or projections 84 being provided so as to accomplish this aim in cooperation with the handle 44 as seen in Fig. 1, and when so rested the lower end of the filling tube 58 is above the level of the liquid 22 as viewed in Fig. 3. By having the tube section 82 coaxially disposed within the filling tube 58 together with the location of the vent tube end near the lower end of the filling.v

tube, that is, the lower end when the-iron is held hori- 3 zontally, it. will be understood that any liquid 86 that might be caught in the filling tube as the iron is turned to a side rest position will be below the end 80 of the vent tube and therefore will not enter the vent tube.

A further point to be noted is that the lower end of the filling tube 58 is so located that it will determine the amount of liquid 22 that can be introduced to the reservoir 20. Such is the situation, for when the reservoir is being filled, the valve 28 will normally be closed, and once the level of the liquid has reached the lower end of the filling tube 58, further venting of the reservoir via the tube 76 ceases owing to the'fact that the end 80 thereof is contained within the bore 74. Thus, it will be seen that the particular depthv to which the filling tube 58 extends and the degree of elevation of the nose of the iron when side rested (dependent in large measure by the size of the feet 84) are important factors to be taken into account in preventing any escape of liquid by way of the vent tube 76 when the iron is side rested.

When the iron is tilted into the position depicted in Figure 4, it will be seen that the level of the liquid 22 is such as to cause liquid to enter the portion 82 of the vent tube 76. Greater tilting would cause the liquid to enter the tube 76 even farther. However, since the end 78 thereof is located approximately midway with respect to the opposite ends of the reservoir, it is virtually impossible for the liquid to exit via the tube 76. If the quantity of the liquid that can be introduced into the reservoir is only half of the reservoirs volume, then it will be appreciated that there can be absolutely no escape of liquid through the vent tube, even if the iron is held vertical with the forward end of the iron lowermost.

In view of the preceding description, it is felt that only a brief outline of the operation will be needed. When liquid is to be added to the reservoir 20 the plug 72 is removed and liquid is poured thereinto through the filling tube 58. Upon the level of the liquid 22 reaching the lower end of the tube 58, the venting is stopped because of the location of the end 80 within the bore 74 of the filling tube. Due to a slight compression of the In conclusion, it will be appreciated that by employing a very simple vent tube arrangement, the liquid 22 during practically all degrees of tilting of the steam iron, will not find an avenue of escape from the reservoirs interior.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of, the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

We claim:

1. In a steam iron, a soleplate, a reservoir surmounting the soleplate having an upper wall, steam generating means associated with said soleplate, conduit means providing communication from said reservoir to said steam generating means, conduit means providing communication from said steam generating means to the pressing face of said soleplate, filling means near one end of the iron including a tubular passage extending into the reservoir, said passage having an opening adjacent its upper and lower ends, a removable fluid tight plug in the upper opening of said filling means, and a vent tube having one end within said passage, and its other end communicating with the atmosair trapped above the liquid level, the level reaches substantially the height depicted in Fig. 2.

Upon opening the valve 28, the liquid flows gravitationally from the reservoir 20 into the boiler 38 by way of the passage means 36. Conversion of the liquid to steam then takes place, and the steam thus formed is led to the pressing face of the soleplate 10 via the delivery tube 52. At this point it might be pointed out that the invention is susceptible to employment with other types of steam generating schemes than that illustrated. For

example, the venting arrangement would find equal utility when used with a steam iron of the so-called flash type.

If, while ironing, the iron is tipped downwardly, as pictured in Fig. 4, some liquid will enter the end 80 of the vent tube 76, but none will escape through the end 78 due to the rearward location of this end even should such tilting be increased to a much greater extent; Conse-' the iron is turned to a side rest position (normally this will not happen), such liquid will merely come to rest against the plug 72 and will not enter the tube 76, all by virtue of the end 80 being adjacent the lower or inner end of the filling tube 58. If there were no coaxial portion 82 with the tube 76 terminating where it enters the filling tube 58 instead of near the lower end of the filling tube 58, then, of course, a likelihood of the liquid 86 entering the vent tube would exist, with the result that escape might take place through the end 78.

phere through said upper wall approximately midway between the opposite ends of the iron, said one end being disposed intermediate said upper and lower passage ends.

2. In a steam iron, a soleplate, a reservoir surmounting the soleplate having an upper wall, steam generating means associated with said soleplate, conduit means providing communication from said reservoir to said steam generating means, conduit means providing communication from said steam generating means to the pressing face of said soleplate, filling means near the forward end of the reservoir including a tubular passage having an opening adjacent its upper and lower ends disposed adjacent the forward end of the iron, a removable fluid tight plug in the upper opening of said filling means, and a vent tube having one end within said passage intermediate said upper and lower ends and its other end communicating with the atmosphere through said upper wall at a locus approximately midway between the opposite ends of the reservoir.

3. Ina steam iron, at soleplate, a reservoir surmounting the soleplate having an upper wall, a filling tube near the forward end of the reservoir forming a passage extending downwardly through the top of the reservoir having an opening adjacent its upper and lower ends, said tube having a removable liquid tight plug at its upper end, a vent tube having one end portion disposed longitudinally within the passage intermediate said upper and lower ends and its other end communicating with the atmosphere through said upper wall at a locus approximately midway between the opposite ends of the reservoir.

4. The structure described in claim 3 in which said filling tube extends downwardly to a depth approximating the liquid level desired when the iron is horizontal, thereby limiting the extent to which said reservoir can be filled.

5. In a steam iron, a soleplate, a reservoir surmounting the soleplate having an upper wall, steam generating means associated with said soleplate, conduit means providing communication from said reservoir to said steam generating means, conduit means providing communication from said steam generating means to the pressing face of said soleplate, a filling tube near the forward end of the reservoir forming a passage extending downwardly through the top of the reservoir, said tube having an opening adjacent its upper and lower ends and said tube References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Riddington et a1. June 22, 1943 Kistner Sept. 18, 1945 Finlayson Feb. 28, 1950 Dafforn et a1. Oct. 7, 1952 

